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LOWER  CALIFORNIA  EXPEDITIOI^. 


SPEECH 


OF 


MR.  GAVIN.  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  JAN.  19,  1854, 

On  the  Proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  of  the  18th  January,  1851, 
relative  to  the  Expedition  to  Lower  California. 


Mr.  GWIN  said :  Mr.  President,  I  ask  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  Senate  to  offer  a  resolution 
personal  in  its  bearing  upon  the  State  which  1  in 
part  represent  here.  1  desire  it  to  be  considered 
now,  and  wish  to  give  the  reasor)3  why  it  should 
be  adopted.  I  will  detain  the  Senate  but  a  few 
minutes.  When  honorable  Senators  hear  the  reso- 
lution read,  they  will  see  the  reason  why  I  should 
be  granted  the  courtesy: 

Resoherf,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  re- 
fliiesti-d  to  communicate  to  the  Senate  the  number  ofships- 
of-war  on  llie  coast  of  California,  Oregon,  and  VVashins- 
ton,  wlieiher  in  active  service,  or  lyint;  in  port  unemployed  ; 
also,  the  nunilier  on  the  whole  Pacihc  coast  of  North  and 
South  America,  and  their  cruising  i^rounds  ;  also,  wlietlur, 
in  hirt  opinion,  the  naval  force  of  the  United  .States  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  in  the  year  Miit'i,  wan  su(fici<;iit  to  prevent  ilie 
departure  from  our>  to  furi-i^n  territory  of  any  urdawful  ex 
pedition  ihat  might  be  hastily  formed  from  the  adventurous 
persons  usually  Id  be  found  at  all  points  of  great  commer- 
cial activity  and  (enterprise,  wliether  in  the  UnUed  Stales 
or  Europe  ;  al»o,  the  nunihor  of  ships  of  war  on  the  Atlan- 
tic coast,  and  other  cruising  grounds,  whether  in  active 
Bcrvico,  or  lying  in  port  unemployed  ;  also,  the  nuniber  of 
troops  in  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 

Mr.  Pre.sident,  I  am  induced  to  offer  the  resolu- 
tion from  seeing  in  the  morning  papers  a  procla- 
mation which  I  wi.ih  the  Secretary  to  read. 

The  Secretary  read  it,  as  follows: 
A  Proclamation, 
hy  the  Prciiiicnl  of  the  UnUed  Slatei : 

Whereas,  infnrmatinn  has  been  received  by  me  that  an 
unlawful  rxii':diiion  has  been  fillid  out  in  the  .-»ial(!  ol'  Cal- 
ifornia  with  a  view  to  invade  Mexico— ■  nation  maintain- 
ing friendly  relatinns  with  the  United  .Stal's— and  that 
other  eipedilioiM  are  organizing  within  the  Unil<'d  .Stales 
for  the  •■ame  iinlawfiil  piirpo»e  :  And  whereas,  eirtain  eiii- 
zrn<*  and  iiihaliilants  of  this  country,  unmindful  of  tin  if 
obllgaliiiiiH»iiil  dniles.andol  the  righu  of  a  friendly  Power, 
have  parlicipaleil.and  are  about  to  participate,  in  these  en- 
IcrpriM  H,  so  derogalory  to  our  national  eharaeter,  and  so 
threatening  to  our  trani|Uillity,  and  are  thereby  incurring 
the-,  vere  pinaltiis  impo^el|  by  law  against  siieh  oll'enders: 

Xuw,therifore,  I,I''ranklin  I'lerce,  I'reniili'iitol  the  I'ni- 
tcd  Slatr-s,  have  is.-iied  this,  my  proclamation,  warning  all 
persons  who  shall  connect  themselves  with  any  siichenter- 
prine  or  expedilion  that  the  penalties  of  the  law  denounced 
against  tiuch  criminal  conduct  will  be  rigidly  iaiurced ;  and 


■  I  exhort  all  good  citizens,  as  they  regard  our  national  char- 
'iclcr,  as  they  respect  our  laws  or  the  law  of  nations,  aa 
they  value  the  blessings  of  peace  and  the  weliare  of  their 
country,  to  discountenance,  and  by  all  lawful  means  pre- 
vent, such  criminal  enterprises  ;  and  J  call  upon  all  officers 
of  this  Oovemment,  civil  and  military,  to  use  any  efforts 
whicli  may  be  in  iheir  power  to  arrest  for  trial  and  punish- 
ment every  such  offender. 
Given  under  my  liand  and  the  seal  of  the  United-  St.ites, 
at  Washington,  this  eighteenth  day  of  January, 
I    [  L.  s.  ]  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  tliousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  four,  and  the  seveniyeighth  of  tlie 
I  independence  of  the  United  Stales. 

'  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

By  the  President : 

W.  L.  Ma  ROY,  Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.  GWIN.  Mr.  President,  this  proclamation 
was  issued  against  persons  who  are  said  to  be  citi- 
zens of  the  Stale  of  California.  1  wish  to  bring 
to  the  notice  of  the  Senate  a  fact  which  I  tliink  it 
is  proper  should  go  out  to  the  country  with  that 
proclamation,  and  it  is  this:  That  at  the  time  this 
expedition  is  said  to  have  been  gotten  up  in  the 
'  State  of  California,  the  United  States  had  no  force 
there  to  prevent  the  sailing  of  such  expeditions. 
I  wish  to  bring  it  to  the  notice  of  the  Senate  and 
the  country  that  at  the  very  time  the  first  expe- 
dition went  from  California,  a  single  st?amship- 
of-war,  with  one  gun,  could  have  prevented  it. 
I  And,  sir,  is  there  no  allowance  to  be  made  for  the 
state  of  the  country  which  was  its  destination — 

'Lower  California  and  Sonora.-' 

Sir,  here  was  an  expedition  of  forty-five  men 
that  passed  out  without  obstruction  froin  the 
Golden  Gate,  less  than  a  mile  wide,  and  which 
any  one  gun  can  rninmnnd,  as  against  a  sliip  with- 
out cannon;  and  they  went  to  a  country  aa  large 

I  as  half  a  dozen  States  of  this  Confederacy,  took 
posHPssion  of  it,  and  issued  a  proclamation  pro- 

,  claiming  it  a  Re[iublic. 

If  the  President  of  the  United  States  intends  to 
put  down  such  expeditions  there  or  elsewhere,  he 
should  have  a  force  of  the  United  States  to  prevent 
their  departure  from  our  ports.     At  the  time  this 

.  vessel  left  the  harbor  of  Sun  Francisco,  there  were 


but  two  ships-of-war  in  active  service  on  the  whole 
Pacific  coast  of  South  and  North  America — one  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  iinvii>g  been  ordered  there 
for  the  purpose  of  prevenfing  the  consummation  of 
one  of  the  expeditions  referred  to  in  the  proclama- 
tion; the  other,  as!  we  all  supposed,  vias  cruising 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  but  subse- 
quent information  informs  us  that  it  had  sailed 
for  the  coast  of  Peru,  to  look  after  some  difficul- 
ties which  our  Government  has  had  with  that 
Republic. 

Now,  on  a  coast  of  over  five  thousand  miles, 
we  had  but  two  ships-of-war  to  protect  our  com- 
merce and  maintain  our  neutrality  obligations.  Is 
it  not  a  farce  to  say  that  such  a  force  can  accom- 
plish these  objects.' 

There  was  also  a  second  expedition  reported  to 
have  sailed  from  San  Francisco,  in  a  vessel  with 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  on  board,  which  was 
towed  out  of  the  harbor  by  a  steamship  without 
the  slightest  obstacle  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  why?  Because  it 
had  no  force  there.  When  we  ask  for  a  steam- 
ship in  the  revenue  service  to  prevent  smuggling  on 
that  coast,  we  are  told  it  costs  too  much;  and  when 
I  ask  that  appropriations  shall  be  made  to  put  that 
coast  in  a  state  of  defense,  I  am  almost  scouted 
at,  because  it  costs  so  much  money.  This  mis- 
erable system  of  economy  has  left  us  without 
Government  power,  either  to  defend  us  from  an 
enemy  or  prevent  the  sailing  of  unlawful  expedi- 
tions from  our  ports. 

Here,  now,  v.'e  are  proclaimed  to  the  world  as 
going  to  and  disturbing  the  peace  of  other  nations, 
by  expeditions  got  up  on  that  coast,  when  we  are 
given  a  carte  blanche  to  go  where  we  please,  and 
violate  any  law  we  please,  so  far  as  the  power  of 
the  Government  is  concerned;  for  the  only  law 
rigidly  executed  there  is  the  law  of  taxing  us,  and 
collecting  the  revenue  from  us. 

Now,  iMr.  President,  I  am  opposed  to  all  unlaw- 
ful expeditions  of  this  sort;  but  it  must  be  known 
that  in  a  new  country  like  California,  where  there 
are  so  many  adventurous  spirits,  and  where  the 
countries  adjoining  us  are  offered  to  us  simply 
for  the  going  and  taking  them,  the  power  of  the 
United  Slates  must  be  vigilantly  and  properly  ex- 
ecuted, if  such  expeditions  are  not  to  be  carried 
out. 

Mr.  President,  it  must  be  known  to  the  people 
of  this  couiitry  that  when  there  are  some  of  the  ' 
richest  mineral  countries  in  the  world  adjoining  : 
the  State  of  California,  wiih  a  population  utterly 
unable  to  defend  them  agaijist  the  Indian  tribes  i 
in  their  neighborhood,   expeditions  of  this  kind  i 
will  proceed  from  California, unlessthe  force  of  the  i 
United  States  there  is  sufficient  to  prevent  them. 
Wherever  our  people  go  they  carry  wealth,  power, 
and  prosperity  with  them,  and   never  forget  the 
principles  of  liberty  they  have  inherited  from  our 
forefathers;  and  although  such  expeditions  should 
not  be  encouraged  or  allowed,  if  they  succeed,  the 
present  inhabitants    will    be    more  powerful  and 
prosperous   through    the   change   of  government 
than  they  ever  v/ere  or  can  expect  to  be  without 
a  change.  , 

Wlmt  is  the  condition  of  our  army  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast.'    It  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  efficient, 
from  local  causes  that  we  have  failed  to   remedy 
by  legislation,  although  urged  to  do  so.     These, 
expeditions  can  go  by  land  to  Sonora,  and,  in  my  i 


I  opinion,  have  gone,  or  will  go;  and  this  paper 
;  proclamation  of  the  President  will  have  no  effect 
in  stopping  any  such  expedition,  because  we  have 
j  no  force  there  to  enforce  it. 

'      It  is  useless  for  the   Chief  Magistrate  of  these 
United  States  to  attempt,  by  proclamation,  to  stop 
any  such  expedition.     As  long  ps  the  principle  of 
territorial  expansion  is  recognized,  and  such  coun- 
'  tries  lay  on  our  border  as   Lower  California,  So- 
nora, and  the  Sandwich   Islands,  inviting  us  to 
I  take  possession  of  them,  and  the  Government  of 
j  the  United  States  opposes  no  effective  preventive 
;  force,  you  will  find  citizens  of  the  United  States 
!  engaged  in  such  enterprises;  and  they  will  l)e  suc- 
1  cessful.    Proclamations  without  efficient  force  will 
not  slop  them. 

Wliy  have  we  not  had  a  steamship-of-war  on 
the  Pacific  coast.'  Because  it  is  said  to  be  too  ex- 
pensive on  a  sea-coast  of  sixteen  hundred  miles, 
as  coal  there  costs  thirty  or  forty  dollars  per  ton. 
Here  we  see  again  that  miserable  system  of  econ- 
omy, pennywise  and  pound  foolish,  that  destroys 
all  of  the  efficiency  of  Government,  and  my  con- 
stituents are  to  be  branded  with  infamy  for  vio- 
lating laws  that  there  is  no  power  to  enforce. 

I  warn  the  country  that  unless  the  power  of 
the  Government  is  exercised  efficiently  on  that 
coast,  they  cannot  expect  us  to  stand  still  when 
we  are  invited  into  these  magnificent  countries 
which  lie  around  us,  and  see  the  Indians  take 
possession  of  them,  when  we  can  get  them  with 
I  the  good-will  of  the  inhabitants. 

I  am  very  much  surprised  at  the  issuing  of  this 
proclamation  at  this   time,  because  it  comes  too 
late.     I  am  anxious  to  aid  the  President  of  the 
j  United  States  in  observing  our  neutrality  laws; 
,  and  if  it  is  true  that  a  treaty  has  been  lately  ne- 
j  gotiated,  by  which  a  large  portion  of  Mexico  is 
to  come  into  our  possession,  it  shows  indisputa- 
I  bly  that  the  public  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the 
United  Slates,  ps  reflected  by  the  Executive,  de- 
sires  possession  of  the  territory  negotiated  for, 
whether  in  the  way  of  purchase  or  otherwise. 
!      I  hope  that  treaty  embraces  all  of  the  territory 
[  on  our  border  which  Mexico  is  not  able  to  protect 
from    such    incursions  and  Indian  depredations, 
and  that   we   shall    have   a    mountain    or   desert 
;  boundary  between  the  two  Governments  that  can 
!  be  defended  by  each.     If  it  does  not  embrace  such 
I  an  extent  of  country,  I  shall  favor  such  a  modifi- 
'  cation  of  it  as  will  accomplish  this  desirable  object. 
Mr.  President,  the  Senator  from  Indiana  states 
that  I  got  up  here  to  defend  my  constituents  for 
committing  acts  of  lawless  robbeiy,  because  the 
United  States  did  not  put  bolts  and  bars  around 
them  to  prevent  them  from  doing  it. 

Mr.  PETTIT.  If  the  Senator  will  allow  me, 
I  will  correct  him.  1  did  not  say  that  he  had  got 
up  to  defend  them,  but  that  he  had  got  up,  under- 
taking to  defend  his  constituents,  not  for  that  act, 
but  admitting  that  they  were  of  that  class  who 
'  would  rob  and  steal,  if  not  prohibited  or  pre- 
vented by  bolts  and  bars. 

Mr.  GWIN.  That  is  not  true.  I  made  no 
such  siatement,  and  no  such  legitimate  inference 
can  be  drawn  from  what  1  did  state.  1  said  that 
the  President  had  issued  a  proclamation  against 
certain  expeditions  which  had  sailed  from  Cali- 
fornia for  the  purpose  of  invading  a  foreign  ter- 
ritory; and  1  gave  as  a  reason  why  these  expe- 
;  ditions  had  passed  from  our  territory,  that  the 


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"r"^>^      /. 


Government  of  the  United  States  had  failed  to  put  !| 
such  a  force  there  as  would  prevent  their  sailing. 
He  says  this  is  defending  stealing,  and  that  1  am 
in  favor  of  having  bolts  and  burs  put  around  my 
constituents.  Why,  sir,  what  do  his  constituents 
hiive  at  home  to  prevent  lawless  acts,  perhaps  as 
frequent  there  as  in  any  State  in  the  Union  .'  ,, 

I'here  are  jails  and  penitentiaries  for   culprits  m 
in  the  State  of  Indiana.     The   State   authorities 
protect  the  citizens  against  acts  of  depredation. 
But  who  but  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
has  control  of  the  foreign  police  of  the  country?  ' 
How  is  the  President  to  enforce  his  proclamation  \ 
unless  by  using  the  arm  of  the  United  States.'' 

Sir,  I  was  not  defending  these  expeditions,  but  I  i 
was  saying  that  the  Presitlent  of  the  United  States 
could  not  have  prevented  them   with  the  effect-  ; 
ive  force  of  the  United  States  now  on  that  coast. 
I  do   not  charge  the  President  with  neglect,  nor 
his   predecessor;    but  I  say   if  the   Government   | 
of  the   United   States  had    but  a  sufficient    force 
there,  and  had  used  it  efficiently,  such  expeditions 
could  not  have  sailed  from  our  ports.     Is  this  de- 
fending them  ?     I  do  not  say  that  there  are  not 
lawless  men  in   California;  but  not  more  than  in 
other  sections  of  the  country  who  cannot  resist 
that  important  precept  of  the  Holy  book,  "  Lead 
us  not  into  tempation." 

Why,  Mr.  President,  I  have  a  distinct  recoliec- 
tion  when  the  drum  and  the  fife  summoned  volun- 
teers to  go  to  Texas  from  the  various  portions 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  that  the  Government  was 
censured  for  not  preventing  such  movements. 
Nor  am  I  defending  them.  No,  sir;  but  I  say, 
^  when  the  President  issues  such  a  proclamation,  it 
CO  is  the  duty  of  this  Government  to  pmvide  means 
'  for  its  enforcement,  and  to  have  that  kind  of  force 
>ron  ilie  spot  which  is  nece.ssary  to  prevent  the 
*^  organization  of  such  expeditions.  That  is  the 
aground  which  I  take.  With  what  justice  and 
—  truth  can  any  Senator  charge  me  witii  defending 
■*any  lawless  acts.' 

z     My  constituetits  pay  taxes  to  keep  up  an  army 
»  and   navy,  and   we  are  entitled   to  the  benefit  of 
c^ihem,  either  for  firotection  against  a  foreign  ene- 
^^  my,  or  to  enforce  our  neutrality  laws,  if  that  be 
nece.ssary.     As  to  surrounding  the  country  with 
bolts  and  bars,  or  an  army  or  navy,  I  asked  for 
no  such  thing. 

There  is  at  present  but  one  point  on  the  Pacific 
coast  wheresuchanexpediiioncould  befitted  out — 
the  harbor  of  San  Francisro — and  there,  as  I  slated 
before,  a  single  8teamshi[)  with  one  gun  could 
efTectually  arrest  it.  I  am  not  interfering  at  idl  in 
regard  to  these  expeditions,  nor  defending  them, 
but  I  say  that  such  a  proclamation,  backed  by  no 
force,  will  have  no  other  effect  but  to  irritate  the 
people  of  that  State. 

I  wish  lo  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  and 
the  country  to  the  fuct  that  there  is  not  a  gun 
mounted  nn  the  Pacific  coa.st — that  there  was  not 
a  sliip-ofwar,  when  these  expedition.s  sailed, 
withm  thou.sands  of  miles  of  our  coast.  I  wish  to 
gel  this  informaiion  before  the  American  jiedplc, 
lo  sIk/w  ihe  necessity  of  having  some  incnnH  of 
defense  there,  mjainsl  foreign  enemies  ns  well  as 
lawle.<js  ex|  editions. 

Mr.  I'.ADGER.  Mr.  President,  1  agree  with 
the  hiiniirable  Svnalor  from  Cnlifirnia,  llinl  there 
ouffht  lo  have  been  a  force  on  the  Pacific  coast 
aulficienl  lo  enable  the  oflicerd  of  the  United  Stales 


to  prevent  the  setting  out  of  this  lawless  expedi- 
tion— an  expedition,  the  successful  prosecution  of 
which,  from  one  of  the  ports  of  the  United  States, 
is  calculated  to  inflict  a  deep  reproach  upon  our 
national  character.  But  I  must  be  permitted  to 
say,  that  I  think  the  honorable  Senator  from  Cali- 
fornia is  mistaken  in  attributing  blame  on  account 
of  the  omission  to  have  such  a  force  there,  either 
to  the  present  or  the  late  Administration.  That 
Senator  and  myself  well  know  that  the  system 
of  cutting  down  the  estimates  which  obtained 
during  the  last  Congress,  and  the  Congress  before, 
left  both  the  late  and  the  present  Administration 
without  the  pecuniary  means  of  maintaining  such 
a  force  there  as  should  make  the  Government  at 
all  times  prepared  to  execute  its  laws,  and  vindi- 
cate, the  character  of  the  country  against  these 
lawless  depredators  upon  peaceable  States  adjoin- 
ing to  us. 

Now,  sir,  it  is  possible,  nay,  it  is  probable,  that 
it  might  have  been  in  the  [lower  of  the  present 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  or  of  the  late  Secretary, 
or  of  his  immediate  predecessor  in  office,  to  have 
placed  a  sufficient  force  on  the  Pacific  coast:  but  my 
friend  from  California  knows  that  in  order  to  do 
that,  with  the  existing  means  of  the  Government, 
and  the  amount  of  naval  force  at  his  command, 
he  would  have  been  necessarily  obliged  to  weaken 
the  naval  power  which  the  interests  of  the  coun- 
try require  should  be  maintained  in  other  parts  of 
the  world.  I  think,  therefore,  that  so  far  as  any 
blame  can  be  laid  to  the  Goverimient  on  tliis  sub- 
ject, we,  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  must 
assume  to  foot  the  bill. 

The  Administration  present,  and  the  Adminis- 
tration past,  so  far  as  I   see,  are  both  blameless 
upon  that  suiiject.  They  have  stated  to  us  in  their 
estimates  what  the  necessities  of  the  country  re- 
quire. They  have  asked  that  the  necessary  amount 
should  be  voted.     Congress  his  refused.     There 
are  no  means  by  which  a  President  of  the  United 
States  can    raise  money  but  through   the  instru- 
mentality of  an  act  of  Congress.    He  cannot  levy 
"ship  money,"  as  tlie  Kings  of  England  once  did. 
He  cannot  make  involuntary  contributions,  under 
the  denomination  of  "  benevolences."     He   can 
only  apply  what   you  place  at   his  disposal    to 
maintain  the  honor  and  enforce  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.     I    feel   persuaded,  strongly   per- 
suaded, that  if  llie  Senator  from   California,  and 
I  myself,  who  always  resisted  in  the  Committee  on 
I  Naval  A  flairs,  and  on  this  floor,  this  system  of 
capriciously  and  arbitrarily  striking  down  the  ap- 
propriations, could   have  been  successful  in  our 
views,  this  late  transaction  would  not  have  hap- 
pened— which  we  all  deplore,  and  which  will  be 
;  considered  abroad  as  a  reproach  upon  our  national 
I  character,  as  if  we  were  ilisjiosed  to  look  with  tol- 
eralioii,  if  not  with  favor,  upon  such   lawh  ss  ad- 
';  ventures  u(>on  the  dominions  of  peaceful  Powers 
j  in  our  neighliorhood. 

,1      I  tlionglit  it   right  to  say  ihus  much  because  I 
think  that  while  we  are  speaking  in  just  terms  of 
indignation  of  sucli  a  proceeding,  it  is  right  not 
I  to  inflict  blame  where  the  blame  docs  not  prop- 
erly lie. 
j      Mr.  SHIELDS.     Mr.  President,  I  will  not  pro- 
il  tract  this  ilebaie;  for  wlml  has  betn  said  by  my 
;  honfirable  friend  frcjm  Indian:!,  f  Mr.  Plitit,]  and 
my  dislinguishi  d  fi  ieinl  frum  North  Carolina,  [Mr. 
il  Badcer,]  makes  it  unnecessary  for  ir.e  to  say  a 


9-1  A    'Vy     k^     k^-^^'V 


word.  Sir,  I  regretted  to  see  tlie  Senator  from 
California  rise  in  his  place  and  charge  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  with  a  neglect  nf  duty — 
for  it  amounts  to  that — in  that  lie  had  not  furnished 
sufficient  force  to  prevent  these  depredations. 

Mr.  GWIN.  Mr.  President,  the  Senator  from 
Illinois  is  mistaken.    1  have  made  no  such  charge. 

Mr.  SHIELDS.  What  the  honorable  Senator 
said  surely  amounts  to  that. 

Mr.  GWLV.  It  does  not;  and  I  did  not  intend 
any  such  thing. 

Mr.  SHIELDS.  He  charges  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  as  I  understand,  with  blame 
and  %ensure  for  not  having  a  naval  force  on  the 
Pacific  coast  to  prevent  these  unlawful  expedi- 
tions; and  yet  he  is  the  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Naval  Affairs,  whose  especial  duty  it 
is  to  furnish  that  force;  and  he  has  neglected,  or 
has  been  unable  to  furnish,  a  sufficient  force  to  the 
President  to  prevent  these  unlawful  expeditions. 

So,  sir,  with  regard  to  the  military  force  on 
that  coast;  that  is  also  insufficient;  but  we  cannot 
blame  the  President,  because  he  hfis  not  furnished 
a  force  which  does  not  exist.  Our  Navy  is  insuf- 
ficient to  protect  our  coast,  and  our  Army  is  also 
insufficient. 

The  Senator  from  California,  if  I  understand 
him,  also  blames  the  President  for  issuing  this 
proclamation.  Sir,  I  think  the  President  would 
not  be  worthy  of  the  position  that  he  holds  if  he 
did  not  issue  such  a  proclamation.  Hemust.sofar 
as  he  can  do  it,  as  the  Executive  head  of  this 
nation,  absolve  the  nation  from  the  disgrace  of 
these  lawless,  unfirincipled,  vagabond  expeditions. 
The  honorable  Senator  seems  to  justify  this  piti- 
ful expedition  of  forty-five  men,  as  I  understand 
him 

Mr.  GWIN.  I  do  not  wish  the  Senator  to  mis- 
understand or  misrepresent  me.  I  did  not  justify 
it;  and  I  liave  not  done  so;  but  I  stated  that  it  weni 
out  because  there  was  no  force  to  arrest  it. 

Mr.  SHIELDS.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  the 
Senator  does  not  justify  it.  I  am  glad  to  fiiid  that 
there  is  not  one  Senator  on  this  floor  who  will 
justify  such  an  expedition.  Before  the  Senator 
charges  the  President  of  the  United  States  with 
rieglect  of  duty,  or  reproaches  him,  he  should  rise 
in  his  place  and  tell  us  where  the  President  w^as  to 
find  the  vessels  to  ^o  theie  to  protect  that  coast. 

Mr.  GWIN.  I  will  do  it  when  the  Senator  is 
through. 

Mr.  SHIELDS.  I  should  like  to  hear  the  Sena- 
tor do  it,  and  to  show  that  fact.  Sir,  I  have  more 
than  contempt  for  such  expeditions  as  this  Walker 
expedition  upon  that  poor,  helpless,  defenseless, 
and  unsuspecting  population.  My  opinion  is, 
that  the  men  who  could  go  there,  who  could  go 
down  upon  the  poor  defenseless  inhabitants  of  the 
frontier  of  Mexico  and  surprise  them,  as  it  were, 
would  do  what  they  have  done  when  they  meet 
with  resistance — fly  ba^ k  to  their  vessels  again. 

I  repeat  what  was  said  by  the  honorable  Sena- 
tor from  North  Carolina,  that  such  expeditions 
are  bringing  reproach  upon  the  country;  and  the 
President  would  share  in  that  reproach  if  he  did 
not  pursue  some  course  to  arrest  it. 

Mr.  GWIN.  Mr.  President,  the  Senator  from 
Illinois  might  have  withheld  his  reproaches  and 
attacks  upon  these  men  who  are  now  in  their 
graves.  The  last  intelligence  informs  us  that  they 
have  all  been  put  to  death.     It  was  uncalled-for 


and  very  wrong  to  reproach  men  who  have  suf- 
fered for  the  crimes  which  he  alleges  they  have 
committed.  Sir,  it  is  one  of  the  charges  which  I 
bring  against  the  efficiency  of  this  Government, 
that  it  has  not  been  able  to  stop  such  expeditions 
and  prevent  such  catastrophes. 

Mr.  SHIELDS.  Will  the  honorable  Senator 
tell  us  wherein  the  dereliction  of  the  Government 
consists? 

Mr.  GWIN.  If  the  gentleman  had  listened  to 
the  resolution,  he  would  have  seen  that  it  asked 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  inform  us 
where  the  naval  forces  of  the  country  are.  I  can 
tell  him  where  some  of  our  sliips-of-war  are. 

1  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  the  expedition  to 
Japan  has  not  had  beneficent,  useful,  and  import- 
ant purposes  to  accomplish.  I  do  not  pretend  to  say 
that  the  naval  force  in  that  expedition  is  not  prop- 
erly and  usefully  employed;  but,  sir,  if  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  cannot  maintain  our 
neutrality,  and  keep  so  large  a  squadron  in  that 
service,  the  question  presents  itself  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  to  order  one  of  the  sfeamships- 
of-war  accompanying  and  composing  part  of  that 
squadron  to  the  coast  of  California. 

Sir,  I  was  in  favor  of  the  Japan  expedition; 
but  I  wish  to  know  whether  it  is  not  the  duty  of 
the  Chief  Alagistrate  of  this  nation  to  place  the 
naval  force  of  the  United  States — inefficient  as  I 
acknowledge  it  to  be — so  as  to  see  that  the  laws 
are  faithfully  executed,  and  that  our  commerce 
and  our  honor,  as  a  nation,  are  not  infringed  upon; 
and  if  he  has  done  so,  I  do  not,  and  have  no  cause 
to  complain. 

Again,  sir,  we  have  a  surveying  expedition  to 
Behring's  Straits,  in  which  five  vessels-of-war  are 
employed.  I  was  in  favor  of  that  expedition,  and 
it  was  upon  my  motion  that  it  was  organized;  but 
is  it  of  more  importance  to  survey  unknown  seas, 
than  to  so  place  our  naval  force  as  to  do  away  with 
the  necessity  of  such  proclamations  ?  My  inquiry 
is  whether  the  Navy  of  the  United  States  is  prop- 
erly distributed  to  protect  our  neutrality,  our 
com.merce,  and  national  honor?  That  is  the  in- 
quiry which  I  propose  by  this  resolution,  and  if 
it  is,  then  it  will  be  more  imperatively  our  duty  to 
increase  the  Navy,  and  thus  enable  the  Executive 
to  execute  his  whole  duty  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  as  well  as  to  foreign  nations.  I  have 
attached  no  blame  to  the  President.  I  have  sim- 
ply stated  a  fact,  which  should  be  recorded  in  the 
history  of  this  country — that  inefficient  as  our 
Navy  is,  we  have  great  and  grand  expeditions  in 
remote  portions  of  the  globe,  away  from  our  ter- 
ritory, within  which  such  expeditions  as  are  re- 
ferred to  in  the  proclamation  are  being  fitted  out, 
and  there  is  not  a  ship  of  war  to  prevent  their 
sailing.  Tiie  object  of  my  resolution  is  to  get  in- 
formation as  to  where  our  ship-of-war  were  sta- 
tioned when  these  expeditions  sailed  from  Cali- 
fornia; and  I  wish  to  know  what  power  the  Presi- 
dent has  at  his  command  to  execute  with  effect 
the  proclamation  which  he  has  issued  ?  He 
threatens  punishment  against  the  persons  engaged 
in  such  expeditions.  What  power  has  he  to 
bring  those  thus  engaged  before  the  courts — for 
you  cannot  punish  except  where  the  crime  is  com- 
mitted— and  what  forces,  military  or  naval,  is  there 
on  the  Pacific  to  execute  that  proclamation  ?  For 
what  practical  purposes  is  the  proclamation  is- 
sued, when  there  is  no  power  within  tlie  control 


of  the  Executive  on  that  coast  to  have  it  respect-  ' 
ed?  .     ' 

It  is  well  known  to  the  Senator  from  Illinois, 
and  to  every  member  of  this  body,  that  ever  since 
I  have  been  at  the  head  of  the  Committee  on  Naval 
Affairs,  I  have  been  in    favor  of  increasing  the 
Navy.    It  is  known  that  I  iiave,  in  my  place,  time  ! 
and  again,  brought  forward  and  urged  upon  the 
Senate  the  necessity  of  appropriating  the  amount  ; 
asked  for  in   the  estimates  of  the  Navy  Depart-  1 
ment  for  that  object.     Here,  in  my  place,  as  the  | 
organ  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  I  asked  ! 
last  session  for  the  building  of  five  or  six  additional 
steaniships-of-war;  and  during  this  session,  by  the  \ 
unanimous  approval   of  the  committee,  brought  ' 
forward  a  report  indorsing  the  recommendation  of  ' 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  add  six  additional 
ships-of-war  to  our  Navy.     I  have  at  all  times, 
and   on   all  occasions,  advocated  the  increase  of 
the  Navy,  and  why  should  the  Senator  refer  to 
me,  as  chairman  of  the  Naval  Committee,  imply- 
ing a  censure,  when  he  says  Congress  is  to  blame 
for  our  inefficient  Navy,  and  he  knows  the  fault 
does  not  lie  with  me,  but  with  the  other  House  of 
Congress  ? 

I  censure  no  one,  nor  any  branch  of  the  Gov- ' 
ernment;  but  state  a  fact,  which  cannot  be  con- 
troverted, that  so  long  as  that  coast  of  one  thousand 
six  hundred  miles  in  extent  is  filled  uji  with  an 
adventurous  people,   who  have  the   privilege  of  | 
gathering   the   rich   fruits    which   lie  along  side 
them,  you  cannot  keep  down  these  expeditions  ; 
without   an    efficient   naval   force.     And    I  say, 
further,  that  when  the  President  issues  a  procla-  ' 
mation  of  this  nature,  he  should  ask  Congress  for 
power  to  enable  him  to  see  that  proclamation  exe- 
cuted.     It  is  our  duty  to  prevent  such   terrible 
catastrophies    as    took  place   at   Havana,  where 
fifty  American  citizens  were  shot  down  lik6  dogs; 
and  as  has  recently  occurred  in  Mexico,  where, 
according  to  the  last  information  we  have  received, 
these  forty-five  individuals  who  invaded  Lower 
California  were  put  to  death. 

I  know  perfectly  well  that  these  expeditions  are 
calculated  to  ca^t  a  stain  upon  the  country,  and 
the  Executive  will,  wlien  called  upon,  dome  the 
justice  to  state  that  ever  since  I  have  been  here, 
I  have  been  urging  him  to  exercise  the  whole  of 
his  power  in  supplying  the  deficiency  of  the  Navy 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  by  chartering  vessels  to  pre- 
vent the  sailing  of  such  expeditions,  and  protect 
those  engHged  in  them  from  iieiirgput  to  death  on 
a  foreign  soil  without  trial.  The  people  of  Cali- 
fornia are  no  more  in  Tivor  of  lawless  expeditions 
than  citizens  of  other  State.-}  with  the  same  tempt- 
ation. 

Mr.  BRODHEAD.  Mr.  President,  it  seems 
to  me  that  we  have  already  nil  the  information 
which  JH  called  for  by  ihiH  resolution.  The  hon- 
orable Senator  from  California  informs  us  that  he 
desires  to  know  how  our  naval  force  and  ships-of- 
war  have  been  employed.  Why,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  has  informei!  us  in  the  report  which 
was  cnmmuriifa'ed  to  us  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  at  the  opening  of  the  session.  I 
have  no  objection,  sir,  that  the  Senator  from  Cal- 
ifornia shall  make  the  Htutement  which  he  has 
given  to  the  Sen, ite.  ft  may  all  be  right.  Il  may 
be  necessary  that  he  should  call  to  it  the  attention 
of  the  Senate;  but  it  is  quite  unnecessary  for  ufl 
to  pass  this  resolution;  for  we  shall  receive  no  fur- 


ther information  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States  when  he  answers  the  call,  than  we  possess 
already. 

Mr.  MASON.  Mr.  President,  it  is  very  cer- 
tain that  the  honor  of  the  country,  as  well  as  its 
safety,  is  deeply  interested  in  preventing  these 
marauding  expeditions  from  leaving  our  shores 
with  a  view  to  commit  depredations  upon  foreign 
Powers;  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  at  present, 
at  least,  that  this  Government  is  to  change  its 
policy  in  the  use  of  the  military  force  which  is 
placed  at  its  disposal,  either  by  sea  or  land,  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  our  people  from  vio- 
lating the  laws.  1  had  not  the  pleasure  of  hear- 
ing all  that  fell  from  the  Senator  from  California, 
but  I  think  I  heard  enough  from  him  to  under- 
stand his  position  to  be  this:  That  our  Navy  is  to 
be  increased,  for  the  purpose  of  requiring  the  laws 
to  be  executed  against  our  own  citizens. 

Mr.  GWIN.  The  Senator  will  permit  me  to 
state  that  what  I  said  was  this:  If  there  had  been 
a  single  ship-of-war  in  the  harbor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco when  these  expeditions  were  fitted  out,  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  them  to  have 
sailed;  and  ,the  Government  of  the  United  States 
should  execute  the  neutrality  laws,  by  preventing 
the  fitting  out  of  such  expeditions  within  our  own 
harbors,  and  within  a  marine  league  of  the  coast 
of  the  United  States.  I  did  not  to  say  that  the 
Navy  of  the  United  States  could  be  used  out  upon 
the  sea  in  pursuing  expeditions  flitted  out  in  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  MASON.  I  did  notascribeany  such  state- 
ment to  the  honorable  Senator  at  all;  but  I  under- 
stood the  drift  of  his  remarks  to  be,  that  we  ought 
to  increase  the  Navy  for  some  purpose,  and,  among 
other  reasons,  because  it  is  shown  that  a  navy 
is  required  to  prevent  the  citizens  of  the  country 
from  violatirg  the  laws  of  the  country.  Now, 
sir,  I  deny  that  absolutely  and  positively.  I  am 
no  enemy  to  an  increase  of  the  Navy,  provided 
the  Navy  is  increased  for  the  legitimate  purposes 
of  the  Navy.  F  understand  the  legitimate  pur- 
poses of  our  Navy,  in  time  of  peace,  to  be  simply 
to  protect  cur  commerce;  and  I  agree  in  the  policy 
of  the  late  Administration,  and  of  the  present  Ad- 
ministration, that  when  they  can  safely  and  pru- • 
dently  employ  n  portion  of  the  Navy  in  the  nav- 
igation of  foreign  seas  and  the  explorntions  of 
foreign  waters,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  our 
commerce,  it  is  a  legitimate  use  of  it;  because 
nothing  gives  a  greater  stimulant  to  the  products 
of  the  country  than  the  means  of  commercial  ex- 
change abroad. 

Now,  I  understood  the  Senator  from  California 
further  to  say,  or  at  least  f  gathered  from  what 
fell  from  him  after  I  came  into  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber, that  he  thought  it  was  not  the  part  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive to  have  issued  this  proiilamalion  until  he 
first  provided  there  a  competent  force. 
!  Mr.  GWIN.  No,  sir;  I  slnled  the  fart  that  the 
cause  of  this  proclamation  originated  from  the 
want  of  a  proper  naval  and  military  force  to  see 
that  the  laws  of  the  United  Slates  were  executed; 
and  I  wish  the  Senator  to  understand  that  I  am 
entirely  in  favor  of  using  the  Navy  in  the  way  he 
mentioned  to  promote  our  comnirrcp. 

Mr.  MASON.     1   have  no  doubt  the  Senator 
from  California  has  well  said,  that,   from   the  ad- 
venturous character  of  the   population  who  have 
'  gone  to  our  Pacific  border,  these  expeditions  are 


6 


more  likely  to  be  fitted  out  from  that  quarter  than 
from  any  pari  of  the  Athinlie  coast;  but  1  under- 
stood him  to  say,  further,  and,  doubtless  to  say 
correctly,  iliat  there  was  no  point  upon  that  ex- 
tended sea-coast  where  such  an  expedition  could 
have  been  fitted  out  but  at  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  GWIX.  My  reason  for  that  remark  was 
this:  San  Francisco  is  a  city  of  large  population. 
In  other  portions — in  the  sparsely-.setiled  parts  of 
the  country — an  expedition  of  this  sort  could  not 
have  been  gotten  up  without  such  notoriety  as 
would  have  defeated  its  object. 

Mr.  MASON.  I  understood  it  so;  anditiscer- 
tainly  no  reflection  on  the  people  of  the  city  of  San 
Francisco  to  say,  that  because  from  the  number 
of  the  popidation  and  the  facilities  given  there,  it 
is  the  only  point  where  such  an  expedition  could 
have  embarked. 

Now,  sir,  I  have  understood  the  policy  of  this 
country  to  be,  to  rely  upon  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try to  protect  each  other  by  seeing  to  the  due  exe- 
cution of  the  laws.  Our  Federal  Government  has 
no  police  distributed  throughout  the  country  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  that  the  laws  are  executed; 
and  I  will  say  to  the  Senator  and  to  the  Senate,  that 
when  the  day  comes  that  we  must  have  an  armed 
police,  by  land  or  water,  to  see  to  the  execution  of 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  the  days  of  the  lib- 
erties of  the  country  are  numbered.  I  protest 
against  any  such  policy  being  avowed  in  the  Senate 
or  adopted  by  the  country. 

Sir,  I  read  the  proclamation  of  the  President 
this  morning,  and  he  has  done  only  what  his  pred- 
ecessors have  done  from  the  days  of  General 
Washington  down,  whenever  they  have  had 
reason  to  believe  that  there  were  existing  lawless 
combinations  for  the  purpose  of  violating  the  laws, 
or  that  any  such  would  be  formed.  In  such  a 
case  it  is  the  duty  of  the  President  to  issue  a  proc- 
lamation, advising  his  countrymen  of  the  conse- 
quences of  such  violation  of  the  laws.  And  why 
is  it  issued?  It  is  issued  for  the  very  purpose  of 
giving  notice  to  the  people  of  the  country  that 
such  combinations  are  likely  to  arise,  in  order  that 
the  people  may  put  them  down. 

Who  ever  heard  of  stationing  a  ship  in  any  one 
of  our  ports  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  expe- 
ditions from  going  abroad.'  Sir,  if  a  ship  were 
stationed  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  or  in  Hampton 
Roads,  within  the  limits  of  the  State  v.hich  1  have 
the  honor  to  represent  here,  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  her  people  their  duty,  I  apprehend  they 
would  be  false  to  the  reputation  which  they  have 
acquired  from  their  fathers,  if  they  did  not  de- 
mand that  that  sliip  should  be  removed;  and  if  it 
were  not  removed,  they  would  remove  it  them- 
.  selves.  What,  sir!  is  the  policy  of  this  Govern- 
ment to  be  to  station  shijjs  in  our  ports  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the  people  there  from  vio- 
lating the  laws  of  the  country,  and  implicating  us 
with  foreign  nations.'  Never!  For  one,  I  should 
be  disposed  to  hold  any  President  to  account  who 
did  it.  I  mean,  of  course,  as  a  general  policy — as 
a  general  measure  of  safety.  Doubtless,  when 
the  occasion  arises,  when  there  is  a  proper  and 
substantial  reason  to  believe  that  such  an  expedi- 
tion is  about  to  be  fitted  out,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Pre.sident,  if  he  believes  it  necessary,  upon  his 
high  responsibility,  to  use  the  forces  of  the  coun- 
try to  prevent  it;  but  I  say  that  the  idea  of  keep- 
ing ships  in  our  ports,  or  anywhere  upon  our 


waters,  lest  such  a  thing  should  occur,  is  a  policy 
new  and  unheard  of. 

Now,  sir,  a  few  words  in  reference  to  this  par- 
ticular matter.  Th.e  city  of  San  Francisco  has  a 
population  of  some  sixty  or  eighty  thousand 
I  inhabitants  as  well  armed,  and  perhaps  better 
'  armed,  than  any  population  that  you  can  find  on 
I  any  other  part  of  your  coast  border.  If  that  pop- 
ulation has  neither  the  ability  nor  the  means  of 
preventing  these  expeditions  from  being  fitted  out, 
it  will  be  useless  for  the  Federal  Government  to 
attempt  it,  unless  it  employs  a  large  portion  of  the 
Navy  for  that  purpose.  I  am  against  using  the 
Navy  for  any  such  purpose  as  a  preventive  meas- 
ure. I  am  against  its  going  out  to  the  country 
that  there  is  any  necessity  for  such  a  use  of  the 
Navy.  And  if  the  purp6seof  the  resolution  be  to 
serve  as  an  admonition  to  the  President,  as  the 
sense  of  the  Senate,  that  the  Navy  must  be  so 
used,  I,  for  one,  must  vote  against  it.  Sir,  I  am 
not  personally  informed  as  to  the  facts,  but  I  have 
no  doubt,  from  what  we  see  in  the  newspapers, 
that  the  President  has  taken  measures,  and  effi- 
cient measures,  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  these 
transactions,  without  the  use  of  armed  ships  sta- 
tioned at  the  ports  of  California  to  prevent  them. 
All  I  wish  to  do,  is  to  protest  against  any  such 
policy  as  that  the  Navy  is  to  be  enlarged,  or  is  to 
be  used  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  our  own 
people  from  violating  their  own  laws. 

Mr.  DAWSON.  Mr.  President,  the  turn  which 
this  debate  has  taken  makes  it  a  very  important 
matter  for  the  country  to  understand  really  the 
grounds  which  give  origin  to  it.  I  did  not  under- 
stand the  Senator  from  California  to  make  any 
charge  against  the  late  Administration  or  the  pres- 
ent Administration  for  a  want  ofdischargeof  duty. 
The  question  which  now  arises  is  this:  Has  the 
President  of  the  United  States  sufficient  means  of 
defense  subject  to  his  government  to  meet  all  the 
incidents  which  may  occur  in  this  large  and  ex- 
tended country.'  Have  we  an  army  sufficient.' 
Have  we  a  navy  sufficient.'  These  are  the  ques- 
tions which  naturally  propound  themselves  on  an 
occasion  of  this  sort.  Have  we  forgotten  that, 
under  the  treaty  with  Mexico,  we  are  bound  to 
protect  the  line  of  frontier  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  from  Indian  depredations.'  Is 
it  not  now  well  understood  that  already  claims 
against  this  Goverimient,  arising  out  of  that  trea- 
ty, amount  to  something  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$20,000,000.'  and  will  it  be  forgotten  that  the  late 
Administration  called  upon  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  to  give  it  the  means  of  carrying  out 
the  treaty,  and  protecting  the  Mexicans  and  the 
Americans  on  either  side  of  the  line.'  Were  the 
means  granted.'  Were  the  two  mounted  regi- 
ments which  were  asked  for  by  the  late  Pi-esident 
of  the  United  States  and  his  Secretary  of  War  al- 
lowed .'  No,  sir;  but  the  appropriations  necessary 
to  carry  out  that  request  were  denied;  and  denied 
by  whom .'  Not  by  the  Executive,  but  by  the 
legislative  departmen'  of  this  Government;  and  if 
any  deleterious  consequences  have  arisen  the  fault 
is  here,  with  us. 

Have  we  forgotten  what  transpired  only  twelve 
months  since,  when  the  very  idea  suggested  by 
my  friend  from  Virginia,  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  as  to  the  suf- 
ficiency of  the  civil  power  of  the  country  to  protect 
this  Government,  and  to  put  down  all  attempts  at 


filibustering',  was  brought  forward?  Was  it  not 
then  thought  that  the  courts  alone  were  to  attend 
to  these  matters?  Then,  I  know,  some  members 
here  regarded  the  effort  of  the  last  Administration 
to  stop  the  Cuban  expedition  as  a  wrong  inter- 
ference, and  it  was  said  that  the  civil  authority 
alone  should  interfere  in  these  matters. 

Now,  sir,  I  did  not  understand  the  Senator  from 
California  as  making  any  charge  against  the  Gov- 
ernment on  any  of  these  accounts.  All  that  he 
desires  is  to  know  whether  the  Government  is  in 
an  attitude  sufficient  to  protect  its  honor,  and  to 
maintain  its  standing,  and  its  obligations  towards 
foreign  nations?  I  say  it  is  not.  Our  military 
force  is  not  sufficient,  and  our  Army  must  be  in- 
creased; not  with  the  idea  of  having  a  standing 
army  thrown  upon  the  country  for  no  necessary 
purpose,  but  for  a  far  diff'erent  reason.  From  the 
extension  of  our  country,  our  sea-coast,  within  the 
last  four  years,  has  been  douliled,  and  it  requires 
a  much  larger  force  to  protect  it  than  was  formerly 
required. 

The  divisions  which  have,  at  previous  times, 
existed  between  parties  in  this  country  relative  to 
a  staiidiujE:  army  or  a  large  navy  cease  to  exist, 
because  the  present  condition  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  does  not  come  up  to  the  requisitions  of  either 
of  the  great  parlies  of  the  country.  Protection  is 
the  only  oi)ject  of  this  proposed  increase.  The 
object  is  not  to  place  an  incubus  upon  the  country 
by  an  overwhelming  army  for  needless  purposes, 
or  by  a  navy  to  rot  in  your  docks;  not  so.  Our 
character  as  a  nation  has  grown;  our  importance 
as  a  nation  has  grov/n;  and  our  dignity  now  can 
alone  be  maintained,  with  that  respect  due  to  it 
from  foreign  nations,  by  the  power  to  enforce  any 
obligation  that  may  exist  upon  us  as  a  nation,  and 
any  duty  that  may  exist  on  the  part  of  the  citizens 
towards  the  Government. 

Now,  sir,  what  I  wi.sh  to  say  is  this:  We  have 
gradually  gone  on  disappointing  the  hopes  and  ex- 
pectations of  the  various  Administrations  in  this 
regard.  President  Fillmore  foreseeing,  like  a  judi- 
cious man,  what  was  the  growing  condition  of  this 
country,  and  what  would  be  its  necessities, called 
upon  us  years  ago  to  increase  the  Navy,  and  to 
increase  the  Army,  to  give  to  the  Executive  De- 
partments of  the  Government  the  power  to  enforce 
all  the  duties  which  are  required  of  them.  Have 
you  done  it,  gentleman  ?  Who  cut  down  the  ap- 
propriations for  military  purposes,  and  for  naval 
purposf'S  during  the  last  year?  The  reports  of  our 
proceedings  in  the  Setuiie  and  the  House  of  llepre- 
Bentatives  will  tell.  Is  the  failure  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  to  provide  for  these  things 
to  be  chnriced  upon  this  Administration,  or  upon 
the  late  Administration?  Certainly  not.  Thef.tuit 
is  here,  sir — not  with  the  Executive. 

1  am  no  friend  to  n  large  standing  army.  I 
have  never  given  a  vote  with  that  object  in  view; 
but  I  nni  prepared,  as  one  of  the  members  of  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  to  whirh  I  have 
belongpu  since  my  first  entry  into  this  body,  to 
say  ihnt  the  military  force  of^  the  coutilry  should 
be  increased.  Tfiat  committee  has,  from  time  to 
time,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of 
the  President  t)f  the  United  States,  asked  yf)U  to 
increase  the  Army.  It  was  not  done.  They 
aslced  you  to  provide  for  raising  two  mounted 
regiments  to  enforce  your  treaties,  and  carry  out 
honestly  and  honorably  your  obligations.     That  j 


was  not  done.  Look  at  the  extent  of  frontier  line 
between  us  and  Mexico,  and  then  let  the  future 
tell  this  country  what  millions  will  have  to  be 
paid,  under  that  treaty,  by  this  Government  to 
to  the  Mexicans,  on  account  of  our  failure  to  carry 
out  its  obligations.  Then,  when  we  a.sk  you  for 
the  power  to  do  so,  and  it  is  not  done,  who  is  to 
blame?  Do  not  charge  it  upon  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  or  upon  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment of  the  Government,  but  upon  yourselves — 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  who,  for  the 
purpose  of  keejiing  down  the  appropriations,  have 
voted  against  them  to  gratify  the  people  at  home, 
who  are  unacquainted  with  these  facts;  and  you 
have  thus  brought  our  present  unfortunate  condi- 
tion upon  us. 

j  A  word  now  in  relation  to  the  Navy.  T  have 
voted  for  every  increase  of  the  Navy  which  has 
been  presented  since  I  have  been  here,  for  it  has 
been  presented  in  detail.  The  Committee  on 
Naval  Affairs,  headed  by  my  honorable  friend  from 

j  California,  has  reported,  for  the  last  three  or  four 

i  years,  in  favor  of  an  enlargement  of  the  Navy; 
and  for  what  reason  ?  To  protect  our  sea-ports, 
to  protect  our  commerce,  and  to  interdict  these 
filibustering  expeditions,  which  are  so  well  calcu- 
lated to  dishonor  this  Union  abroad.  Who  failed 
to  carry  out  these  propositions  which  were  thus 
presented?    The  representatives  of  the  people. 

Why, then,  will  any  man  insinuate  upon  this 
floor,  or  anywhere  else,  that  the  late  or  the  present 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  their  various 
heads  of  Departments,  have  failed  to  do  their 
duty?  They  have  unif^ormly,  boldly,  and  strenu- 
ously recommended  to  us  to  do  what  they  thought 
we  ought  to  do;  but  we,  in   our  wisdom,  turned 

I  a  deaf  ear  to  their  suggestions,  and  pronounced 
that  the  people  would  not  like  to  see  nur  appro- 
priations so  large.  When  we  stopped  the  appro- 
priations for  a  few  millions,  by  the  simple  striking 
out  of  a  line,  we  opened  a  flood-gate  of  claims 
against  this  country  amounting  to  three  or  four 
times  the  sum  by  which  we  diminished  the  appro- 
priations. When  those  claims  shall  be  presented, 
if  I  shall  be  honored  with  a  seat  on  this  floor,  I 
shall  attempt  to  give  a  historical  sketch  of  the 
action  of  this  Government  in  relation  to  these 
appropriations,  from  the  time  of  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty  with  Mexico  down  to  the  present  day; 
to  show  who  it  has  been  that  failed  to  strengthen 
the  arm  of  the  Executive  Department  in  order  to 
carry  out  the  obligations  which  were  incurred 
under  that  treaty. 

Now,  sir,  a  few  words  as  to  the  expedition  of 
which  my  friend  from  California  has  been  speak- 
ing. That  is  one  of  tiie  incidents  belonging  to  a 
republican  form  of  government.  It  is  one  of  the 
incidents  belonging  to  the  peculiar  character  of 
that  section  of  the  country,  wheie  the  lands,  as 
the  honorable  Senator  observes,  are  thrown  open, 
and  we  are  asked  to  go  in  and  protect  the  people 
by  ?iving  them  n  better  government  than  they 
now  have.  Men  can  be  found  everywhere,  not 
only  in  Califiirnia,bulin  every  State  of  this  Union, 
whose  better  feelings,  not  whose  disposition  to  rob 
and  to  steal,  would  prompt  them  to  go  and  take 
the  control  of  the  Government,  in  order  to  miti- 
gate the  despotism  inflicted  upon  those  people,  and 
give  to  them  a  prosperity  which  they  never  had 
before.  Hccause  they  have  gone  there  they  are 
said  to  be  censurable.     IIow?    As  citizens,  I  am 


4  flL  y.4    k£    ><     >l'k 


8 


not  disposed  to  degrade  them,  because  they  were 
operated  upon  by  high  and  magnanimous  feelings. 
I  am  as  niarh  opposed  to  filibustering  as  any  man 
upon  tliis  floor;  but  I  tell  you,  sir,  that  it  will 
arise,  and  it  will  continvie  to  arise,  until  you  skirt 
the  whole  of  your  Pacific  coast  with  a  naval  power 
sufficient  to  intercept  all  of  these  expeditions;  and 
are  we  not  bound  to  do  it?  A  great  and  powerful 
nation  like  the  United  States  should  stand  upon 
its  honor,  and  discharge  every  obligation  due  to 
other  nations.  We  never  can  do  it,  sir,  until  both 
the  great  parties  in  this  country  concur  in  giving 
strength  to  the  Executive  arm  of  the  Government 
sufficient  to  carry  out  our  treaty  obligations. 

Mr.  GWIN.  I  have  no  desire  to  further  oc- 
cupy the  attention  of  the  Senate.  All  I  have  to 
say  in  reply  to  the  Senator  from  Virginia  is,  that 
if  this  proclamation  means  anything,  it  means  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  power  to 
execute  it.  If  it  is  not  a  mere  paper  proclamation, 
he  intends  to  use  that  power  which  the  laws  and 
the  Constitution  have  placed  in  his  hands  foi-  its 
execution.  And  I  undertake  to  say,  witliout  any 
special  authority  on  the  subject,  that  the  President 
has  issued  orders  to  the  naval  and  military  comr 
manders  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  do  everything 
which  the  Senator  from  Virginia  says  it  would  be 
a  great  outrage  to  authorize. 

Mr.  MASON.  Will  the  Senator  allow  me  to 
interrupt  him  for  a  moment?    Do  I  understand 


him  to  say  that  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
by  virtue  of  any  power  in  himself,  has  author- 
ized any  poftion  of  the  Army  or  Navy  to  proceed 
in  the  execution  of  the  laws  at  all,  except  as  aux- 
iliary to  the  civil  power,  to  execute  the  process  of 
the  courts? 

Mr.  GWIN.  I  understand  the  power  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  be,  to  see  that  the 
laws  are  faithfully  executed,  and  the  treaties  made 
with  foreign  Governments  enforced;  and  therefore 
1  think  that  if,  in  his  opinion,  at  any  point  of  the 
United  States  there  is  an  expedition  fitted  out,  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  to  invade  the  terri- 
tory of  another  Government,  in  violation  of  the 
treaties  of  the  United  States,  he  has  the  right  to 
stop  that  expedition  until  it  is  ascertained  by  the 
courts  of  the  country  whether  it  is  illegal  or  not. 
But  how  can  you  stop  an  expedition  until  this 
investigation  takes  place  in  the  courts? 

I  did  not  intend  to  provoke  a  discussion;  but 
when  such  a  proclamation  on  this  subject  is  issued 
against  citizens  of  my  State,  I  intend  to  state  the 
acknowledged  fact,  that  there  was  an  invitation,  if 
I  may  so  say,  from  the  people  of  the  country 
invaded,  to  engage  in  such  expeditions;  for  they 
have  no  government,  no  protection,  and  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  wherever  they  go,  afford 
that  protection  which  those  people  do  not  get  from 
their  nominal  Government. 


Printed  at  the  Congressional  Globe  Office. 


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